Sun Gold Tomato Pesto Pizza

A vegan, nut-, and gluten free Sun Gold cherry tomato pesto sauce that is great as an appetizer or dip, a pizza sauce, or pasta sauce.  It freezes well, too.

One of the near-guarantees, if you're in a summer Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) or farm share subscription, is a lot of tomatoes.  Quite possibly more than you can cope with in a week.  This week, for example, I got four quarts of tomatoes.  Four!  I had a quart of cherry tomatoes, 2 quarts of slicing tomatoes, and a quart of heirloom tomatoes.  (And I'm the only human around who likes to eat raw tomatoes.)

However, I'm not the only household member who's thrilled that Sun Gold season is upon us.

Some people like to gobble up cherry tomatoes like candy.  Others like their tomatoes cooked, never raw.  Still others grow into almost liking tomatoes.  I recall I first tried a summer tomato sandwich, as a non-raw-tomato-eating adult, thanks to a food writer at The Washington Post--her description of the flavors sounded so good that, even though I wasn't a fan of raw tomatoes, I toasted some bread, grabbed the mayo, salt and pepper, sliced a tomato from the garden and discovered a wonderful taste sensation.  That still remains my favorite way to enjoy tomatoes in the summertime.

What choice do I have other than to Deal With All these quarts of tomatoes?  Next week will bring a new box, and sooner or later my own tomatoes will ripen.  I've got to get these tomatoes put up.  

If you're curious, I slow-roasted most of the slicing tomatoes overnight, following Alanna's excellent tutorial, and I put up 4 half pints of heirloom tomato & cashew pesto in the freezer, then I gave a couple of slicers to my neighbor, and the pigs and I snacked on the rest of the cherry tomatoes.  I'm all set.  This week.  I'm lucky they'll just keep coming until frost.

Since I used primarily slicing tomatoes when I made and put up Heather's Fresh Tomato Pesto, I decided to use the Sun Gold cherry tomatoes and my kitchen scale to provide a metric weight-based recipe for this delicious sauce.  I noticed that I needed less oil for these juicy summer tomatoes than I needed for the late season tomatoes.  I threw the sauce on a pizza, so I could get this ever-so-seasonal post up for Friday Night Pizza Night. For real--the dishes are still in the sink, this recipe is that fresh!  You'll be reading it while I'm still cleaning up the mess and the kids are fighting over the leftovers.

Even though my tomato plants are laden with large green tomatoes (oh my, stay tuned for my Green Tomato Bacon Jam recipe next month, it rocks), the other garden plants are ripening just fine.  I used entirely basil in this pesto, because I've got a raised bed full (as you can see, I need to make the kids weed again), and my daughter picked a couple of banana peppers for the non-cheese pizza.  We put up 4 quarts of refrigerator kosher dills today, but no pickled peppers on this pizza--just fresh banana peppers, pepperoni, and anchovies because I may as well make a pizza exactly like I want to eat.

NOTE:  I created this recipe to be gluten free through my choice of ingredients. Check labels to confirm that your products are also gluten free. Good sources for determining that your products are gluten free can be found here:

http://knowgluten.me/2012/03/31/other-names-for-gluten/

http://glutenfreedoctor.com/gluten-free/

http://www.celiac.com/categories/Safe-Gluten%252dFree-Food-List-%7B47%7D-Unsafe-Foods-%26amp%3B-Ingredients/

Sun Gold Tomato Pesto, a recipe by weight, makes enough for 2 pizzas plus 1/2 cup extra

300 grams Sun Gold cherry tomatoes (about 2 cups)

60 grams salted sunflower seeds (please note that my store brand pictured may contain gluten, other brands are GF) (about 1/2 cup)

50 grams basil leaves (about 1/2 cup really tightly packed)

1 large clover garlic

1 teaspoon salt (forgot to weigh that one)

25 grams olive oil 

Put tomatoes, sunflower seeds, basil, garlic and salt in a food processor.  Pulse to get them chopped up, the whir for a moment.  Scrape down sides, the process on low, adding the olive oil in a stream.  Scrape sides one more time, then process on high until fully blended.  This may discolor, so if you're not planning on using it right away put a piece of plastic film directly onto the surface, or just stir in the darker part when you serve.  You can freeze this in freezer safe jars or zip top bags. I've had mine in the freezer 6 months just fine--just pour off any water that separates when you're thawing it.

Sun Gold Tomato Pesto Pizza

1/2 recipe above Sun Gold Tomato Pesto

1 pound pizza dough of your choice (see my Pizza Primer for a dough recipe, tips, tricks, and hints)

3/4 cup sliced fresh mozzarella

1/3 cup shredded Italian blend cheese

Optional toppings:  1/2 cup chopped banana peppers, 1/4 cup sliced pepperoni, as many little fishies as you desire

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  If you've got a pizza stone, place it in the oven to preheat as well.  If not, use a cookie sheet.  On an oiled piece of parchment, stretch out your dough into the shape that floats your boat today.  Spread between 2/3 cup and 1 cup (160 ml to 240 ml) of Sun Gold tomato pesto across dough.  Top with sliced mozzarella and any optional toppings you choose.  Scatter shredded cheese over top.  Bake for 5 minutes, then shimmy out the parchment paper from under the crust, and bake an additional 3-8 minutes until the cheese is browned and bubbly.  Cool on a rack 5 minutes, then slice and serve.

This post is shared with the From The Farm Blog Hop,  the Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesdays, Mostly Homemade Mondays, Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up, What's Cooking Wednesday, and What's In The Box where Heather, creator of the original Cherry Tomato Pesto that sparked this riff, hosts a wonderful weekly CSA link up.